Look Me in the Eye
by Circe King
Summary: Nasuada Nightstalker, queen of Alagaesia has sworn to keep her country a queendom and never marry. How ironic is it that the one man she would actually want to marry shows up on her doorstep just hours later? 5th chapter just added!
1. Smiles

**So I pretty much HATE this beginning chapter, so that's why it's so freaking short. But 2 people have asked me to write a story about Nasuada and Murtagh getting back together. So this is the beginning of a story that I promise you will sound MUCH better. **

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><p>Nasuada sat on her throne and bit her lip to keep back an exasperated sigh. King Orrin watched her from across the room with the look she'd learned to fear. Three times she'd turned down his proposals, and she really didn't know how many more times she could turn him down before she would finally take his offer just to make him shut his blue-blooded mouth.<p>

Or she could marry one of the other men pining for her attention, after all the Church of Surda didn't believe in divorce, or widows remarrying.

The latest one had just finished his promise of love, which of course had fallen on deaf ears, just the same as the others. His cheeks were ruddy and red and his gut stuck out over his belt.

"I'm sorry Lord..." she let it hang.

"Redfern, your ladyship." Well, how fitting.

"Lord Redfern. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I am not accepting any marriage proposals. Alagaesia will remain a queendom."

His beady little eyes narrowed angrily and his cheeks deepened in color. "I apologize, your highness, but why do you choose to leave your kingdom so weak, without a blooded heir?"

Nasuada glared down at the man furiously. "You are not forgiven. Now begone."

As the flustered and terrified man escaped out of the throne room she caught the humored grin on Orrin's face.

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><p><strong>So, I'll probably keep going, and trust me, it will get MUCH better. But I'd love some reviews...<strong>

_**Sic Semper Tyrannis**_

**Circe King**


	2. Loopholes

**So I thought...why not explain why Nasuada chooses never to marry? So here's my OC Medea, the incredibly wise serving girl.**

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><p>Medea worked as her highness's chamber maid, which meant she worked for hours every day to dress her ladyship, brush out her hair and braid it into the intricate designs she seemed to favor. But all the time spent toiling over that mass of black curls led to her being the queen's secret advisor and confidant, a position she held with much dignity.<p>

She was quite possibly the only person in the castle that was aware of the queen's love for the traitor Murtagh. Medea herself hadn't come to Uru'baen until nearly a year after the war had ended, at which time gossip had moved on from discussing traitors to the future marriage of their queen. She had been the one to suggest to the queen that she remain unmarried, that her conquest of Alagaesia would be enough for her to hold her throne even without a king by her side.

Of course the conservatives were against it from the start (many of them had been hoping to become king) but Nasuada had enough influence to hold the approval of her people. She had lead the revolution to overthrow Galbatorix after all.

But that didn't mean Nasuada couldn't produce an heir.

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><p><strong>I promise, actual dialogue and drama is coming! REVIEW!<strong>

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Circe King


	3. Fish

**Okay, this is where it REALLY begins. But what's really funny is that while I was writing this I decided to type "Nasuada and Murtagh" onto Youtube and all the videos had the exact same 3 pictures of Nasuada from the piece-of-crap movie they "based on the book". It seriously cracked me up!**

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><p>Nasuada waited patiently while Medea carefully braided her hair down her back in a single elaborate plait. The young serving girl hummed a beautiful northern song as her deft fingers twisted the fly-away black curls into submission.<p>

"What did Redfern say?" Medea asked without skipping a beat.

Nasuada shrugged her shoulders. "Same as all the rest. That Alagaesia is weak because I do not have an heir to the throne."

Medea muttered a curse in her northern tongue. "Men."

"Men." Nasuada agreed.

"What is it that leads them to believe that-"

The door flew open, slamming against the wall with enough force that it shook the ground. Medea's fingers tangled in Nasuada's braid and the queen yelped in pain.

"Your highness!" the guard cried and fell to his knees. Medea cursed again and finally pulled her fingers free, ruining the braid she had spent at least an hour on.

Nasuada rubbed her aching head and motioned for him to rise. He was a young guard, seventeen, maybe eighteen, far younger than the usual thirty-to-forty-year-olds that generally worked on the Queen's Guards.

"There's a man here for you, milady. He says it's urgent!" he finally gasped out.

Nasuada glanced at Medea, whose mouth had fallen into its usual frown. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Guardsman...?" Medea started.

"Merric, if it pleases you, Lady."

"Guardsman Merric. How long have you been working for the Queen's Guard?"

"Three days, ma'am."

"Then I suppose you have yet to learn how to respond to these 'urgent' meetings. No men are to meet with the queen unless it is a matter of life or death or during her specified meeting times. I apologize for the confusion."

His pale face blushed bright red with embarrassment and he stood to leave, but he stopped in the doorway. "Lady...he asked that I deliver a short message. I'm not sure what it means, but he said the queen would know what it means."

"Go on." Nasuada prompted.

"'You already know.'"

She froze and looked at Medea with a look that made her look considerably like a fish.

"Did this man carry a sword?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded.

"And was the pommel of his sword a large ruby?"

He nodded again. "But he wore traveler's clothes, your highness."

Nasuada didn't hear the last bit. She yanked on her robe and took off down the hall in her bare-feet. Medea ran after her, calling for Merric to follow.

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><p><strong>Y'all know the drill, R&amp;R!<strong>

_Sic Semper Tyrannis_

-Circe King


	4. Cold Feet

Nasuada hadn't even bothered to grab shoes in her excitement. She was regretting that decision now that she was running down the freezing stone floors on the lower levels. Uru'baen wasn't exactly the warmest, most comfortable place during the winter months. The rocky overhang created shade and relative cool in the summer, but in the winter it was just a looming piece of slag that made the temperature drop another ten degrees.

Medea flew after her mistress with Merric at her heels. He was shocking quiet for someone of his build, while her feet slapped against the ground like thunderclaps.

"Nasuada! Is it-" she started.

"Hush!" the queen snapped as they rounded a corner to run past the courtiers' suites.

"Is it who?" Merric hissed. For such a quiet man he wasn't very good at whispering. Nasuada shushed him as well, more sternly than before.

"Turn right!" Merric called just as Nasuada turned left. She skidded to a stop and whipped around, her wild hair coming even more loose from its already ruined braid.

"Curse this confounded castle!" she screeched.

Medea rolled her eyes and quickened her pace to keep up.

Only when they came to one of the side entrances did Nasuada slow down. Medea stopped and Merric collided with her, catching her around the waist before she could fall.

Nasuada looked back at them with a pleading look on her face, begging them to leave. Medea nodded slowly and carefully untangled herself from Merric. She walked away with Merric only a few paces behind.

The queen took a deep breath to steel herself and brushed her hair out of her face. The oak door before her had never seemed so daunting in her life.

She grabbed the silver door-handle and, ever so slowly, turned it to open the door.

Her eyes were closed as she stepped out onto the landing, waiting patiently for him to say or do something.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally the excitement got the best of her and her eyes flew open.

Only to find that there was no one there.


	5. Look Up

**This one is longer, and I hope you guys love it!**

**And thanks so much to for her excellent feedback, especially for pointing out my lack of description! So sorry, R&R if I'm doing better!**

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><p>Nasuada's knees buckled and exhaustion crashed down on her like an avalanche. A steady rain had started up and her robe was soaked through. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the empty space before her. He was gone. She had run the entire length of Uru-baen to see him and he had <em>left <em>her. _Again. _

She wallowed in self-misery for what felt like hours, but likely lasted only a few minutes until the door behind her opened up.

Medea rushed out into the rain and enveloped Nasuada in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I am so, so sorry."

Nasuada nodded slowly and tried to stand, stumbling backward into Merric, who scooped her up like a child and began carrying her back inside. She hadn't noticed how big he was, his shoulders were broader than any courtier's and his strength showed years of working in something much more strenuous than guard work.

By the time they reached her bedroom she had regained enough of her composure to walk in by herself. Medea thanked Merric and apologized for the "inconvenience" before dismissing him from the room.

"Would you like a bath?" Medea asked as she brushed out Nasuada's hair for the second time.

"I think I'll just sleep now, Medea. Thank you."

The servant nodded and quickly braided the slightly damp curls into a loose, slightly messy braid. She set the bell on the table by the bed. "If you need anything, just ring."

"Don't worry, Medea. I'll be fine." Nasuada said quietly.

"You always are." Then she slipped out through the servant's entrance.

Nasuada sighed and carefully changed into her night clothes. She slipped in her bed and curled up beneath the silk sheets. No matter what anyone threw at her, she _was always fine_. Her father had often joked that she had been born a courtier, she had a cooler head than many of the most experienced people at court. She had faced Galbatoric's torture and she still hadn't been broken. She had clung to the lifeline she could find, and that lifeline had been Murtagh.

But now that lifeline was turning into a problem all its own.

_He _was the reason she had turned her back on marriage. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that she was doing it for the good of the realm, she always knew deep down that his leaving had led to that decision.

She hadn't regretted, not once. Until now.

What if marrying would help her to forget him? That would be the easiest thing to do, wouldn't it? There was nothing left for Murtagh and her, they had been doomed from the start. What was the point of refusing anymore?

As her mind wallowed on these thoughts something pressed in on her consciousness. It was faint, barely above a whisper, and she would have missed it had it not been so important to her at an earlier time.

_Nasuada..._

She shot bolt-upright in bed. Her chest heaved as if she were having a nightmare and all her earlier thoughts flew from her mind.

_Open the door._

She ran over and threw her door open to find an empty hallway.

_Turn right._

Nasuada grabbed her slippers and walked as quietly as she could down the hallway.

_There is a balcony on your right, open the doors. _

She hesitated as the storm raged beyond that thin layer of glass, but the voice was persistent and she carefully opened the balcony doors.

_Now look up._

Her head snapped up as lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the bright red shape perched on the roof just above her head. Her heart beat frantically against her ribcage at the sight of the enormous dragon staring at her with big, blood-red eyes. He looked at her with curiosity, head tipped slightly to the side. Something moved on his back and her heart froze.

Even in the dark she could see his face, dirty and the kind of gaunt you only got after traveling for a long time. He picked his way over the roof and jumped down to land in front of her, magic slowing his descent.

He smiled like she'd never seen him smile before, and she felt her lips turning up in the first real smile she'd shown in years.

"You said I already know," she said over the wind. "But I want you to look me in the eye and say it, for real this time!"

Murtagh held her face in his hands, his usually fierce gray eyes were suddenly calmer, more compassionate. He bent so that they were literally only centimeters apart. "I love you."

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><p><strong>I'm considering ending it after this chapter, review if I shouldn't!<strong>

_Sic semper tyrannis_

-Circe King


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